This invention relates generally to the field of soft golf cart covers, specifically to an improved cover that protects the passengers from rain.
Golf cart covers are utilized today to protect the occupants of the cart from adverse weather conditions and insects. The covers generally protect the front, sides and rear of the cart by covering the openings of the cart with panels made of vinyl, cloth or other similar materials. Golf carts typically have hard top covers to protect the occupants from the sunlight. Golf cart covers generally attach to or are supported by the top of the cart and have the side panels of the cover secured to the body of the cart.
Many golf carts have permanent hard front windshields that attach to a windshield frame that generally supports the front of the hard top on the cart. Carts with a permanent windshield do not need to have a front panel on the soft cover to protect the occupants from rain. In fact, having the front soft panel overlay the permanent windshield hinders the ability to see clearly through the front windshield of the cart. Therefore, it is desirable not to overlay the permanent windshield with a soft transparent panel from the soft cover. To accommodate carts with permanent windshields, many golf cart soft covers do not have front transparent panels.
One issue that golf cart soft cover manufacturers have today is making a cover versatile so that it may be used with carts that have permanent windshields and other carts that do not have windshields. A cover that would conveniently work for both types of carts is desirable since it appeals to customers who own a fleet of carts, some having permanent windshields and some without. In addition, it is less expensive to manufacture and warehouse one type of cover rather than two since the covers can be manufactured in higher volumes and stored in smaller quantities. In order to fulfill the need to have a versatile soft cover, there have been several covers patented that allow the front transparent panel to be folded up and secured when used with a cart having a permanent windshield. However, the front panel is relatively large and when rolled up forms a rather large roll that tends to flap around in the wind, collects rain, leafs, bird droppings and other debris. Additionally, these types of roll up front panel covers are unsightly.
Another challenge that golf cart soft cover manufacturers face is preventing the wind and rain from penetrating through the space between the edge of the vertical extending frame members supporting the front of the cart""s hard top and the side panels of the soft cover when the front panel is removed or rolled up. The wind and rain tend to cause the front edges of the side panel to flap or flare outward allowing rain into the passenger compartment. To avoid this, covers have been developed that require the front of the side panels to attach to the frame supporting the front of the top. However, this requires additional attachment mechanisms making the cover more expensive and cumbersome to remove. In addition, the cover must be specifically designed for the type of cart it will be used on to ensure that the front edges of the side panels can be securely connected to the cart""s front frame. This is due to the wide variety of makes and models of carts that currently exist in the golf market. Many of these carts have different frame designs depending on the cart""s manufacturer and model year. This makes the task of creating a soft cover that will provide good water protection for the passengers when the front panel is rolled up a challenging endeavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,615 to Showalter describes a soft cover bracket that enables the front edges of the side panels of a soft cover to be connected to the frame supporting the front of the cart top. In one embodiment, the bracket also supports a hard windshield. As can be seen in this patent, considerable expense is added to include these brackets to ensure that the front edge of the side panels do not flap in the wind and rain allowing rain into the passenger compartment of the cart. It is also clear that the bracket of the Showalter patent would not fit on any model of cart, requiring different brackets to be designed for different carts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,317 to Nation describes a soft golf cart cover having a plurality of panels, each panel having an inner and outer layer. The cover described in this patent can have a front panel, however, the front panel cannot be rolled up or removed. Therefore, the cover described in the Nation patent would hinder the ability to clearly see through the permanent windshield and the layer of transparent soft cover material overlaying it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,275 to Ridge describes a soft golf cart cover that has panels enclosing the passenger and club storage areas of the cart. A center vertical zipper in the rear panel is utilized in the Ridge patent to allow access to the golf clubs. However, there is no mention in the patent of using a zipper on the front windshield to allow it to be rolled or folded out of the way. Therefore, the cover described in the Ridge patent would hinder the ability to clearly see through the permanent windshield and the layer of transparent soft cover material overlaying it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,315 to West describes a soft golf cart cover made up of a plurality of individual panels that attach to the cart""s hard top. The panels may be connected to each other using ties to secure them together. It is conceivable that individual panels could be removed or folded up when not in use. However, if the front panel is rolled up, it will form a rather large cumbersome roll near the front edge of the cart. This roll will tend to collect rain, debris and bird droppings. Additionally, the front edges of the side panels require additional attachment to the frame of the cart. The patent describes ties that could be utilized to attach the front edge of the side panels to the edge of the cart""s frame. However, this would form a rather poor seal and would require more cumbersome assembly and disassembly steps. Therefore, wind and rain would enter into the passenger compartment and the cover would be burdensome to install and remove due to all the tying required. In addition, the panel would need to be sized correctly and the ties positioned so that they would be in the right location to attach to the cart""s frame. This would require different panel designs and tie positions for different makes and models of carts.
U.S Pat. No. 5,259,656 to Carroll describes a soft golf cart cover made up of a plurality of individual panels that may be rolled up and stored. However, the cover described in the Carroll patent would form a rather poor seal with the front edge of the side panels if the front panel was rolled up. Therefore, it would allow wind and rain to enter into the passenger compartment. It is also necessary to attach the front edge of the side panels to the cart""s frame to avoid having the edges flap in the wind and allow rain to enter the passenger compartment. This attachment would require an attachment mechanism and more cumbersome assembly and disassembly steps. The cover of this patent would require different cover designs for different makes and models of carts to ensure that the front edges of the side panels could be attached to the cart""s frame.
Therefore, a foldable golf cart cover that can be used with almost any make or model of cart, with or without a permanent windshield, without hindering the vision of the passengers and that forms versatile water blocking shields between the front edges of the side panels and the cart""s frame is desired. It would also be beneficial if a golf cart cover that had these desired features be esthetically pleasing, portable and not allow the side panels to flap in the wind when the front panel is rolled up.
The present invention provides an improved golf cart cover for protecting the occupants in a golf cart against harsh weather conditions or heavy bug concentrations. The cover is designed to be versatile, so that the same design will fit a wide variety of golf cart makes and models including carts with permanent hard windshields and those without windshields. The cover of this present invention would additionally provide a water and wind-blocking shield at the front edges of the side panels preventing them from entering the passenger compartment. In one preferred embodiment of this invention, the cover utilizes a central windshield zipper to allow the flexible windshield to be rolled back out of the way when the cover is used on a cart with an existing windshield. In like manner, the flexible windshield can be rolled flat and zipped together in the center to accommodate carts that do not have a windshield when the player desires windshield protection. In a second preferred embodiment, the zipper could be located on either side of the center of the windshield or at the extreme edges. The zipper in either embodiment may be replaced by another fastening means.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to provide a golf cart cover that fits on a wide variety of different golf cart types without the need for modification;
(b) to provide a golf cart cover that forms a water and wind blocking shield at the front edge of each side panel when the front panel is rolled toward the sides without the need to attach the side panels to the cart""s frame;
(c) to provide a golf cart cover that can be utilized on carts with and without permanent hard windshields without overlaying an existing hard windshield with a flexible windshield causing reduced or blurred vision;
(d) to provide a golf cart cover that can be easily installed on a wide variety of carts without the need for attaching the front edges of the side panels to the frame of the cart, making the golf cart faster to install and remove;
(e) to provide a golf cart cover that prevents the front edges of the side panels from flapping in the wind when the front panel is rolled up, without having to attach the front edges of the side panel to the frame of the cart;
(f) to provide a golf cart cover that is esthetically pleasing;
(g) to provide a golf cart cover that allows the front windshield panel to be rolled to the side or sides of the cart forming vertical rolls that do not trap leafs, bird droppings and other debris as easily as horizontal rolls; and
(h) to provide a golf cart cover that is robust and durable.